Ancestral Awakening
by Kir C
Summary: During a life or death struggle, Naruto unlocks a certain dead bloodline. Assigned to a youthful team, Naruto will have to discover what it means to be a walking bag of dead bones while he learns what's important to him. Begins one year before the main plot.
1. Chapter 1

AN: Wow, It's almost been a month since I last updated my first story. Anyway, if you feel like it, please leave a review.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto... I don't think I own it, but maybe, just maybe... No, bad thoughts.

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Prologue: The Dead bloodline

The forest seemed to darken as a blonde haired kid holding a rather large scroll in his arms tried to control his breathing. Thinking back to how this all began, the blonde haired kid let out a shaky breath. 'I know this is your second attempt to pass the graduation test, but you fail. You should try harder next time Naruto... I know you really wanted to graduate this time Naruto, so I guess I have to tell you. It's a secret, but I guess I have to tell you, there's another way to graduate the academy... So I've finally found you... Give the scroll to me Naruto... You are the kyuubi... NARUTOOOO.' Naruto shook his head, trying to focus on the current situation.

Within a clearing near the tree that Naruto hid himself behind stood two ninja. Naruto strained his ears to hear what they were saying.

"I don't care what you have to say. You're not getting your hands on that scroll." Iruka said, wincing as he forced himself to keep standing despite the numerous wounds that littered his body.

"As if you could stop me." Mizuki gloated. "Don't you get it? Naruto is just like me. He wants the scroll for his own power and his own benefits, that's how beasts are. He'll pour all of his rage into the scroll and destroy everything."

"You're right, that is how beasts are... But that's not how Naruto is. Naruto is someone that works hard and puts his heart into whatever he is trying to accomplish, sure he often fails and everyone jumps on him for it, but his suffering and perseverance only makes him stronger." Iruka countered. "So you're wrong. He's nothing like the kyuubi. He is Naruto Uzumaki of Konohagakure no Sato."

"I was going to save you for later, but I changed my mind... You're FINISHED." Mizuki yelled, spinning his giant shuriken. Intending on ending Iruka's life, Mizuki charged forward, but was immediately stopped by an orange and yellow blur ramming into him, making him lose his grip of his shuriken which disappeared in the forest.

"Not bad... for a rookie punk." Mizuki said as he picked himself off of the floor.

"If you ever lay a hand on my sensei, I'll kill you." Naruto growled, resting the giant scroll on the floor.

"You destroy me. Hah... I can completely destroy you in a single move. Let's see you try." Mizuki mocked Naruto.

Glancing down at the scroll, Naruto's mind was in overdrive. 'Damnit, I didn't have enough time to learn that clone jutsu... Can I really beat Mizuki by myself... But I have to protect Iruka-sensei and this scroll... I have to win.' Naruto thought. Glancing back at Iruka's tired form, Naruto flung the scroll at him. "Hey Iruka-sensei. Catch." Turning his gaze back to Mizuki, Naruto pulled kunai from his weapons pouch, before dashing towards him.

Easily blocking the kunai, Mizuki kicked Naruto, knocking him to the floor. "Is that all you've got... I have to admit, I'm kind of disappointed... I don't know why I expected more from you." Mizuki said.

Scowling at Mizuki's words, Naruto slowly picked himself up again. Charging towards Mizuki again, Naruto was shocked when Mizuki easily caught his hand. Not liking the sadistic look in Mizuki's eyes, Naruto tried to tug his arm loose, but failed. A second hand grabbed Naruto, before Mizuki forced Naruto to stab himself in the shoulder.

Naruto let loose a scream as Mizuki twisted the kunai in his shoulder.

"NARUTO." Iruka yelled, moving to stop Mizuki, Iruka collapsed to his knees. "Mizuki you bastard. Stop this."

Ignoring Iruka, Mizuki pulled the kunai from Naruto's shoulder. "What do you think of that, fox brat?" Mizuki taunted. "How about I put the next one here?" He pointed the kunai at Naruto's stomach. "Or maybe I should just end it now." Mizuki placed the kunai on Naruto's chest. "You know what? I think I'll just end you right now... I mean, I still have Iruka and I'm sure he will be more entertaining than you. Goodbye Naruto." Mizuki pulled the kunai back, intending to end Naruto's life in one swing.

Feeling a burning pain in his shoulder, Naruto's eyes widened when he saw the kunai in Mizuki's hand race towards his chest. 'I... I'm going to die? But this isn't how it's supposed to be... I'm supposed to become Hokage... I can't die yet. I won't die.' Naruto thought.

Naruto could feel something odd happen, something was happening to his body. The burning pain in his shoulder lessened and he could feel something happening... something happening in his bones. The bones in Naruto's body were shifting around, almost as if they had a mind of their own. Naruto could feel something shift in his chest... right before the kunai in Mizuki's hand pierced it. Feeling pain, but not as intense as when Mizuki plunged the kunai into his shoulder, Naruto grunted as blood began leaking from his mouth.

"NARUTO. NOOOO." Iruka roared, flinging himself at Mizuki. "I'LL KILL YOU MIZUKI."

Mizuki dropped Naruto as Iruka tackled him to the floor. Feeling the bones shift in side of him, Naruto was shocked to see the kunai still buried in his chest slowly push its way out of him. Unknown to Naruto, his wounds were healing rapidly and his hair was turning white.

Mizuki laughed as he easily pushed the weakened Iruka off. "Don't you understand Iruka? You're far too weak to take me on. You were too weak to protect yourself and..." Mizuki had a sadistic smile on his face." And you were too weak to keep me from killing your student."

Iruka growled as he tried to stand again, but found himself completely exhausted.

Mizuki grabbed a kunai from Iruka's pouch, before placing it right beneath Iruka's eye. "You know what, I think I like killing people with their own weapons. Now I don't have much time, so let's get started." Mizuki said as he slowly brought the kunai closer to Iruka's eye. "What do you think Iruka? You're going to be killed by your own weapon... Just like Naruto." Mizuki chuckled.

Seeing what was happening to Iruka, Naruto immediately darted towards Mizuki. Unknown to Naruto, a sharpened blade made of bone sprouted from the palm of his hand. Tackling Mizuki off of Iruka, Naruto thrust his palm into Mizuki's chest.

Mizuki gasped at the feeling of a blade enter his chest. While Mizuki was glad that the blade had missed his heart, he was still in an enourmous amount of pain due to the blade going completely through his body, pinning him to the floor.

Not noticing that he had pinned Mizuki to the floor with a bone from his body, Naruto raised his left fist, before repeatedly punching Mizuki in the face. "I...TOLD...YOU...THAT...IF...YOU...EVER...HURT...MY...SENSEI...THAT...I...WOULD...KILL...YOU." Naruto spoke between punches.

"Naruto, that's enough." Iruka said, before placing his hand on Naruto's shoulder. Seeing Naruto calm down, Iruka let out a relieved sigh. Trying to help Naruto up, Iruka noticed that Naruto hadn't let go of Mizuki's chest. "Come on Naruto. You can let go of Mizuki now... I doubt that he's going to be getting up from that." Iruka said, pointing at Mizuki's bloodied face.

"I...I know, but my hand is stuck." Naruto replied as he tried to tug his hand from Mizuki's chest, visibly lifting him a little.

Noticing the odd situation, Iruka kneeled down next to Mizuki. "Strange... You pull while I hold Mizuki down." Iruka grabbed Mizuki's shoulders, before Naruto started tugging. Seeing Naruto's hand slowly pull away from Mizuki's , Iruka was shocked to see something white connected to Naruto's hand and Mizuki's chest.

After a few seconds of tugging, Naruto's hand was finally free from Mizuki. "Man, I'm glad that I'm not stuck to this jerk anymore... What...the... IRUKA-SENSEI, SOMETHING ELSE IS STUCK TO MY HAND..." Naruto yelled freaking out at the sight of the strange white thing sticking out of the palm of his hand.

"I SEE THAT YOU IDITO." Iruka yelled back. "NOW CALM DOWN."

"But what is it?" Naruto asked. Grabbing the strange white thing, Naruto attempted to tug it off, but stopped when he felt something pull inside of his arm. "AAAH, IT'S INSIDE OF ME. GET IT OUT." Naruto yelled again as he tried to tug the white thing out of his hand.

"STOP PULLING AT IT YOU IDIOT." Iruka yelled as he grabbed Naruto's arms. "Now tell me what happened when Mizuki stabbed you."

"Um... it really hurt when he stabbed me in my shoulder, but before he stabbed me in my chest it felt as if something was moving inside of me...Like...my...bones... Holy shit, this is one of my bones." Naruto said, looking at the bone sticking out of his hand in awe. "Ne Iruka-sensei, I didn't know ninja could move their bones outside their body."

"They can't." Iruka deadpanned. "I think we should go see the Hokage about this, maybe he could tell us what's happening to you."

"Um, what should I do with this?" Naruto asked, pointing to the bone sticking out of his hand.

"I'm not really sure... well, if it's a part of your body... try pulling it back in." Iruka replied.

Nodding at Iruka's suggestion, Naruto's entire focus was on the bone sticking out of his hand. At first nothing happened, but eventually it started sinking back in until all that was left was un blemished flesh.

"That felt kind of weird." Naruto remarked, looking at the spot where the bone entered.

"Yeah, I'll bet." Iruka muttered. "Seeing as you aren't as badly hurt as me, you can carry Mizuki while I will take the scroll." Iruka said, smiling at Naruto's groan. "No time to complain, we have to get to the Hokage's office quickly."

"Fine, whatever." Naruto grumbled before he grabbed Mizuki's leg. Noticing that Iruka had already grabbed the scroll, the duo slowly made their way to the Hokage's office with Mizuki dragging behind them.

Mizuki groaned as he slowly began to wake up. Feeling that someone was dragging him, he shifted his body to the side, intending to grab on to something to try and escape. If he had paid any attention to his surroundings, Mizuki would have realised that the direction he shifted towards had numerous large rocks that he immediately banged his head into, knocking himself out.

It would be a while later that Mizuki would wake up again. Looking up, Mizuki realised that he was inside a building. Intending to use the small space to his advantage, Mizuki sat up, but immediately fell down when the person dragging him walked up an elevated surface. Sitting up again, Mizuki hit his head on a railing that was on the wall. Suppressing the groan that threatened to escape his throat, Mizuki decided to pretend to be unconscious and wait for the perfect time to strike. Unfortunately for Mizuki, Naruto was walking upstairs and Mizuki's head banged each step, knocking him out again.

Waking up for a third time, Mizuki was angry at the amount of times he had banged his head. "THAT'S IT." Mizuki yelled, jumping to his feet. Looking around the room, Mizuki realised that he was standing in the Hokage's office, in front of the man he attempted to steal from.

"Ah, Mizuki-kun. I think it best that we have a long discussion on how you convinced an academy student to steal one of the most important scrolls in this village, along with you attempting to kill a fellow chunin and said academy student and mentioning a certain secret. " The Hokage said dangerously, his eyes peering into Mizuki's.

Mizuki calmly walked up to the wall, before banging his head into it as hard as possible, knocking himself out.

"Now, as you were saying." The Hokage looked to Iruka and Naruto.

Iruka looked amused at Mizuki's downed form, before turning towards the Hokage. "Right. As I was saying, After Mizuki revealed information on what happened to the kyuubi, he attempted to kill Naruto and then pursued Naruto in an attempt to steal the scroll. After I stopped Mizuki from finding Naruto, he attempted to kill me. Naruto saved me and then he attempted to kill Naruto and myself." Iruka explained. "There is actually something I would like to ask you. What happened to Naruto? Why is his hair white and why can his bones come out like they do now? Is it the..."

The Hokage raised his hand. "No, it's not the fox." He said, before turning towards Naruto. "Naruto-kun, could I ask you to make that bone come out of your hand again?"

"Sure thing old man." Naruto smiled, before lifting his hand. Focusing on it, a sharp bone pierced through his skin, slowly extending to the length of his forearm.

"Most interesting." The Hokage softly prodded the bone sticking out of Naruto's hand. "I believe that I know what this is." The Hokage pulled a pipe from his robes, before lighting it and taking a puff. "There was once a clan that existed in the hidden mist and it was known as the Kaguya clan. It was very rare, but there were a few members who awoke a kekkei genkai that was capable of manipulating their bones. Those that had this kekkei genkai could turn their entire body into a weapon, it was thought that they had the ultimate body. But sadly the Kaguya clan is extinct now."

"Then why did his hair turn white?" Iruka asked curiously, before glancing at Naruto.

"I believe that is due to the kekkei genkai awakening in young Naruto here. There are plenty of Kekkei genkai that strain the body when they awaken and this specific kekkei genkai changes the inside of the users' body. The large amount of chakra it used when awakening must have strained Naruto's entire body, causing the white hair that you see." The Hokage explained. "Any other questions?"

"Ne old man, what's this kekkei genkai thing called?" Naruto asked curiously.

The Hokage hummed lightly. "It was called the Shikotsumyaku... The dead bone pulse."

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AN: And there you have it, the first chapter of my new story. If you enjoyed it, you might enjoy my other story, Hogwarts Overkill, A Naruto Harry Potter crossover fic. If you feel like it, please leave a review, I enjoy reading what you think of this story and reviews, favorites and follows make me want to write more.


	2. Chapter 2

An: Hello all. First off, I would like to thank those that took the time to Favorite, Follow and Review this story. It's nice to know that you enjoy it and It makes me want to write more knowing that people find what I write interesting. If you feel like it, please leave a review, I like to hear what you think of my story and it makes me want to write more chapters

To all my readers that also read Hogwarts Overkill. I have not abandoned that story, I am merely taking a break from writing it. I know it's been a while since I've updated that story, but just wait a little longer and I will begin updating that story again. If you haven't read Hogwarts Overkill, then let me tell you what its about, Imagine a post war Naruto, Bee and Orochimaru being hired as guards for Hogwarts during Harry's fifth year. Sure there are other characters from Naruto in it, but its mainly focused around the three I mentioned.

Now, onto the story.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. But imagine if I did. There would be quite a few changes, like more focus on the Konoha 11 in place of all the filler and sasuke episodes.

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Chapter 1: The dilemmas solution

Hiruzen Sarutobi sat at his desk, puffing on his pipe as he recalled what had happened the previous night. Although he was concerned that one of the teachers at the academy had tried to steal the scroll of seals, something else was bothering him. Naruto Uzumaki had unlocked a kekkei genkai and not just any bloodline, but the Shikotsumyaku.

Hiruzen nursed his forehead as he looked over two open files that sat on his desk. Minato Namikaze, Konoha's forth Hokage, the yellow flash. Kushina Uzumaki, Konoha's red hot habanero, wife to the forth Hokage and the second Kyuubi Jinchuriki. Naruto's parents.

"Now which one of you was related to the Kaguya clan?" Hiruzen asked. Glancing at the pictures one last time, Hiruzen closed the two files. "Not that it matters." He muttered.

"Talking to yourself is a sign of senility." A gruff sounding voice came from the shadows.

"Danzo... To what do I owe the pleasure?" Hiruzen asked, having expecting Danzo's appearance the moment Naruto developed the Shikotsumyaku kekkei genkai.

An elderly looking man walked out of the shadows, one of his arms was in a sling while he had bandages wrapped around half his face, covering his right eye. Danzo's cane thumped the ground as he slowly made his way towards Hiruzen's desk. "I heard a rumour that a certain Kyuubi Jinchuriki has developed a most interesting bloodline. " Danzo sat in the chair in front of Hiruzen's desk. "I have merely come to confirm these rumours."

"What you've heard is true. Naruto-kun has indeed developed the Shikotsumyaku kekkei genkai." Hiruzen replied. "Now what are you going to do with that information?"

"Most interesting... But a descendent of the Kaguya clan can be detrimental to the village." Danzo said.

"Would you care to explain just what you mean by that?" Hiruzen asked dangerously, not willing to let Danzo harm Naruto.

"The Kaguya clan was filled with war loving savages who attacked their own village to satiate their own bloodlust. It is worrisome to consider what would happen if a Shikotsumyaku wielding Jinchuriki decided to go on a rampage through the village." Danzo explained. "What I am here to do is ensure that the kyuubi Jinchuriki doesn't go on that rampage."

Hiruzen took a puff from his pipe as he considered what Danzo was saying. "And how would you go about doing that?" Hiruzen asked, already knowing what Danzo had in mind.

"I would train the boy." Danzo replied quickly. "Having him as one of my shinobi, I would ensure that he never sees this village as a place to satiate his bloodlust, but rather let him loose on Konoha's enemies."

Hiruzen hummed lightly. "Your words have truth to them. From the moment that I realised that Naruto-kun developed the Shikotsumyaku, I have been worried that he might develop some of the Kaguya clan's... less desirable traits, but I believe you have just given me the answer. "

"And your answer is to let me train him?" Danzo asked, not quite believing that Hiruzen was finally allowing him to train Konoha's Jinchuriki.

"Hmmm, No." Hiruzen answered. "No. While I don't doubt your ability to train young Naruto, I believe that he would be better off being trained by someone else. I have just the man in mind, he is an expert in taijutsu and his youthful attitude should overpower any traits Naruto-kun may have inherited from the Kaguya clan." Hiruzen smiled.

Danzo's visible eye widened as he realised who Hiruzen was talking about. "I can tell that you've already set your mind to this... While this is not the outcome that I wanted, it is still better than some of the other outcomes I expected." Danzo slowly stood up, before silently leaving the room. "Maito Gai, huh. I wonder what you're thinking Hiruzen." Danzo mused as he walked down the hallway.

Back in the Hokage's office, Hiruzen puffed on his pipe as he waited until he could no longer feel Danzo's presence. "Neko." Hiruzen spoke calmly. At Hiruzen's call, a purple haired woman dropped down from the ceiling.

"Yes sir." Neko replied, standing on one knee.

"Find Maito Gai and bring him here." Hiruzen ordered. "You will most likely find him at training ground three." He added. "Dismissed."

"Yes sir." Neko saluted, before disappearing in a whirlwind of leaves.

Grabbing the two files sitting on his desk, Hiruzen quickly placed them in his draw. 'Hmmm, There doesn't seem to be anyone else here.' He thought as he looked around the room suspiciously. Reaching under his desk, Hiruzen found the secret latch that he personally placed there. With a quick tug, a plane looking brown book fell into his hands. Pulling the book out from under his desk, Hiruzen began to examine it. 'Let's see. Boring D-rank missions... Everything seems to be in order.' Hiruzen thought as he turned to the first page, revealing the words, Icha Icha paradise printed at the top of the page. 'Jiraiya, I was wrong... out of Tsunade, Orochimaru and you, you are the true genius.'

So engrossed in his book, Hiruzen was startled when his door swung open. Hiruzen swiftly hid the book under his robes, before inspecting who dared to interrupt his quality time with the precious.

"Yosh. Good morning Hokage-sama." Gai cheerfully greeted Hiruzen.

"Ah, yes. Good morning to you as well Gai-san. I hope I didn't interrupt you." Hiruzen replied.

"Not at all Hokage-sama, I had just finished my light morning exercise... Nothing like a few thousand push ups to start the day." Gai added.

Deciding to ignore Gai's remark on light exercise, Hiruzen continued. "I have called you here because I would like to discuss your team, more specifically a last minute additional member that will be added to your team."

Gai rubbed his chin as he mused over Hiruzen's words. "An additional member. Four genin on one team is definitely unusual, who's the other genin?" Gai asked, interested in what Hiruzen was talking about.

"Naruto Uzumaki." Hiruzen replied.

Gai laughed boisterously. "So he passed on his second try... that's good. I've seen him a few times and he certainly has a fire in him. But why do you want to add him to my team?" Gai asked, wondering why Naruto wasn't placed on another team.

"He awakened a kekkei genkai that allows him to control their bones. One that turns the body into a weapon and seeing as there is no one alive with this kekkei genkai, I believe that you will be the best person to train him. Especially with your mastery of taijutsu." Hiruzen explained calmly.

"Hm, a kekkei genkai that allows you to manipulate your bones... Yes, I have heard of that kekkei genkai before." Gai replied. "If I'm not mistaken, it is called the Shikotsumyaku." He continued. "While I admit that I don't know much about the Shikotsumyaku, I am sure that I will be able to help the youthful Naruto develop it."

Hiruzen smiled, glad that Gai didn't have any objections to Naruto being placed on his team. "Good. I'm counting on you Gai." Nudging the book hidden in his robes, Hiruzen carefully considered his next move. "While I would like to continue this conversation, I am afraid that I will have to end it here. I have numerous documents to go through and I am already behind time."

"I understand Hokage-sama. To make up for every second that I kept you from your work, I will run one hundred laps around the village." Gai replied, giving a thumbs up, before racing out of the room.

Shrugging at Gai's declaration, Hiruzen pulled out the book he was reading before Gai had arrived. "Hehehe." Hiruzen giggled perversely as he slowly turned the page.

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Naruto yawned as he stretched in his bed. "Man, what a weird dream." He mumbled. "What's the time anyway?" Looking at his bed side table, Naruto finally caught sight of his clock. Rubbing the sleep from his eyes, Naruto cursed when he noticed the time. "Crap, I'm late for the academy...Oh well, no one will care if I skip a day."

Climbing out of his bed, Naruto walked into his bathroom. "I wonder why I had such a weird dream... I mean, growing bones out of your body is badass, but why would I dream that I could do that?" Naruto asked himself. Looking at his reflection in the mirror above his sink, Naruto's eyes widened comically. "HOLY SHIT." His once golden hair was now bone white. "My hair's white, why is my hair white... Get a hold of yourself Naruto, now think... in that dream Iruka-sensei said that my hair had turned white and gramps said it was because of my kekkei genkai... that means it wasn't a dream."

"Can I really control my bones?" Naruto asked himself. Looking at his right hand, Naruto attempted to will the bone out of his body. Watching intently, Naruto noticed something bulge beneath his skin, before a sharp white bone pierced through his skin, extending until it was the same length as his forearm. "This is so AWESOME. Hah, I have a kekkei genkai, in your face Sasuke." Naruto cheered. "I wonder if this is the only bone I can control." Focusing on his left hand, a second bone slowly grew from it, before extending to the same length as the bone coming out of his right hand. Naruto grinned as he looked between the pair of bones. "Hell yeah, this is so badass." Before he could attempt to do anything else, his stomach growled loudly. "Guess I better get breakfast." Naruto thought aloud. Focusing for a moment, the bones that grew out of his hands slowly retracted back into his arms.

Walking into his kitchen, Naruto opened his fridge, before groaning. "Aw man, I forgot to get groceries yesterday... Guess I'll have to eat at Ichiraku ramen" Naruto grinned at the thought of the heavenly food that is Ramen. Grabbing his orange jacket, Naruto raced out of his apartment, speeding towards Ichiraku Ramen.

Entering Ichiraku Ramen, Naruto salivated at the delicious smell that greeted him. "Hey old man, can I get two bowls of pork ramen and one bowl of chicken ramen." Naruto ordered his meal. Sitting in his usual seat, Naruto noticed Ayame staring at him strangely. "morning nee-chan." Naruto greeted Ayame.

"Good morning Naruto." Ayame replied, before leaning on the table in front of him. "So what's with your hair? Did you dye it or something?"

"My hair?" Naruto asked, wondering what Ayame was talking about. "Oh, it turned white when I used my kekkei genkai."

"Kekkei genkai?" Ayame asked curiously.

"Yeah. It's this shikotsuyaya thing, it lets me control my bones. Gramps said that my hair turned white because of it." Naruto explained cheerfully. "Here, check this out." Naruto raised his hand, allowing Ayame to see a sharp white bone grow out of his hand.

"Naruto. You know the rules of my ramen stand." Teuchi placed the three bowl of ramen in front of Naruto, before pointing to a wooden board on the wall, just below the menu. "No use of ninjutsu in this restaurant. No use of genjutsu in this restaurant. No use of taijutsu in this restaurant." Teuchi recited the first three rules of his restaurant. "Seeing as you are our favourite customer... I will pretend I didn't see you break one of the rules of Ichiraku Ramen."

Naruto's eyes widened in horror. "What...what have I done. I have offended the ramen gods by breaking one of the rules in their temple... I must repent." Naruto began. Focusing, the bone slowly slid back into his hand. "Old man, I'll take one repentance ramen."

Teuchi nodded solemnly, before walking back into the kitchen. After a few moments, he walked out, holding a large bowl of ramen. Placing the bowl in front of Naruto, he nodded, before turning away.

Naruto gulped loudly as he looked at the red bubbling liquid that was the soup of his ramen. Steadying his breath, Naruto grabbed his chopsticks. Dipping the chopsticks into the broth, Naruto scooped up the noodles, before shoving them into his mouth. Sweat poured down his face as he shovelled the food into his mouth. Having finally finished with the noodles, Naruto grabbed the bowl before downing the soup in one gulp.

Naruto's face turned red as he took a large gasp of air, before collapsing onto the table. Meanwhile, Teuchi looked onward, a single manly tear dripping down his face.

Ayame sighed as she shook her head. "Idiots." She muttered as she watched the scene that played out in front of her. "I still can't believe that Naruto convinced dad to name our chilli ramen the repentance ramen."

Naruto gasped as he sat up, before grabbing the glass of water that sat in front of him. Downing it in one gulp, Naruto let out a relieved sigh. "Man, that ramen was hot." Naruto said, before grabbing the ramen that he originally ordered. So engrossed in his ramen, Naruto didn't notice that someone was sitting next to him.

"I'll have one bowl of chicken ramen." A familiar voice ordered their ramen.

Looking to his side, Naruto grinned when he realised who was sitting next to him. "Hey gramps, what's up? You finally decided that it's time to give me that hat, didn't you?" Naruto asked.

"Maybe in a few more years Naruto-kun." Hiruzen replied. "I actually came here to talk to you about your career as a ninja."

Naruto's smile sagged a little at the mention of his ninja career. "I didn't pass the academy test, so I can't be a ninja yet." Naruto muttered, before smiling. "But if you think that failing the academy test twice is enough to make me quit trying, then you've got another thing coming. I'll definitely pass it next time, just you wait, I'll be the most badass ninja ever."

Hiruzen chuckled at Naruto's words. "I'm sure you will be, how did you put it, the most badass ninja ever. But I'm not here to talk about the academy." Hiruzen added. "You proved something to me last night... You proved that you are ready to be a ninja and while you may have failed the academy test, you won a fight with a chunin level ninja." Hiruzen explained, pulling a hitai-ate out of his robes, before handing it to Naruto. "Now it's time to prove to everyone who you are, Uzumaki Naruto."

Naruto smiled as a few tears dripped down his face. "You got it gramps." He cheered, before wiping the tears from his face.

"Good. Have your ninja registration form filled out tomorrow." Hiruzen ordered. "In three days time you must report to academy room number nine for team placement."

"Sure thing gramps." Naruto replied happily, admiring his hitai-ate.

"Now let's enjoy our ramen." Hiruzen said, noticing that Teuchi was bringing him the bowl he ordered. Taking one last glance at Naruto, Hiruzen hoped that he made the right decision. 'You will face many challenges, Naruto-kun. I just hope that you don't forget who you are.'

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An: There you have it. I struggled to write this chapter and I'm not one hundred percent happy with it, but it is a necessary chapter. Next chapter involves Team placement and possibly their first mission and training. If you feel up to it, please leave a review. Maybe even Favorite and follow.


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